Americans are disappointed: only 16% believe in the positive impact of AI on society
A survey conducted among 5,119 American adults revealed deep skepticism toward artificial intelligence. Only 16% of respondents expect AI implementation to bring positive changes to society. Meanwhile, about 40% of those surveyed are pessimistic and predict a negative impact of the technology.
Distrust in Regulators and Developers
The crisis of trust extends not only to the technology itself but also to the institutions tasked with overseeing its development. 67% of survey participants believe the U.S. government is incapable of effectively regulating the AI sector. Another 59% do not trust the integrity of development companies. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (about 66%) believe that the pace of AI development is excessively fast and unsafe.
Young Democratic voters under 30 are the most critical: among them, only 14% believe in AI's positive impact on society. This demonstrates that skepticism is not exclusively a partisan issue, although political preferences do correlate with attitudes toward regulation.
The Paradox of Everyday Use
Despite the general pessimism, actual use of neural networks is growing. About a quarter of surveyed Americans reported using chatbots daily. ChatGPT remains the leader—44% of U.S. adults use it, more than double the figures from 2023. It is followed by Gemini (24%), Copilot (17%), and Meta AI (14%).
These data confirm earlier studies. In May 2025, YouGov recorded that 71% of Americans consider AI development too fast, with pessimists (51%) outnumbering optimists (25%) by two to one. For comparison, in January 2025, the gap was minimal—35% versus 34%. In May 2025, a joint Reuters and Ipsos poll showed that 61% of Americans perceive AI as a direct threat to humanity.
My analysis: We are witnessing a classic paradox of breakthrough technology adoption. Users actively employ AI tools in daily life and work, yet feel deep anxiety about long-term social consequences. This is a signal for the industry: without transparent regulation and open dialogue with society, growing distrust could slow the adoption of even the most effective solutions. Investors should consider this factor when assessing risks for AI-related projects.